Stopper for garbage disposal unit



Jan. 24, 1956 J. M. VALENTINE STOPPER FOR GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT FiledNOV. 15, 1952 m T m Mfi m w I I W O I m 0 J x a o 3 03 n 3 v 4 4 T: O 64 m 6 4/ 4 4 4 3 4 J 8 6 4 4 8 :z 4 W E O 3 4 8 5 4\ 3 3 w 4 4 3; 9 4as; 3 4 w 3 n n a M 6 8 2 w z F h 2 2 2 2 4 4 2 2 w w 1 R R1 AfforneysUnited States Patent STOPPER FOR GARBAGE DISPOSAL UNIT James M.Valentine, Vandalia, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation,Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application November 15, 1952,Serial No. 320,641

2 Claims. (Cl. 4-286) This invention relates to a domestic appliance andmore particularly to a water seal closure device for the connectionbetween the sink and the garbage disposer.

Garbage disposers are ordinarily connected to the drain of a sink. Thedrain outlet connects directly to the entrance of the garbage disposer.

After the waste material is dropped through the drain into the garbagedisposer it would be desirable to completely cover the drain so as toprevent objectionable noise resulting from the reduction of rigidmaterial such as bone from being transmitted directly into the room. Itis also desirable to prevent particles from being possibly thrownupwardly during the grinding action. However, to properly operate such adisposer it is necessary to provide a continuous flow of water into thedisposer. Therefore a simple plug is not satisfactory.

It is an object of my invention to provide a closure which fits into thebottom of the sink and into the mouth or entrance of the garbagedisposer and which is designed in such a manner that water may flow andyet the audio path can be kept closed.

It is another object of my invention to provide such a closure member inwhich the water will form a water seal to close the audio path.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a closure whichcan be readily removed to insert food wastes into the garbage disposerand can also be completely closed to act as a drain plug to seal thedrain opening.

These objects are attained in the form of the invention disclosed byproviding a circular outwardly flanged member provided with a seal ofrubber-like material beneath the flange which rests upon an inwardlyturned flange in the drain opening. This outwardly flanged member isprovided with a circular trough having several small drain holes in itslowermost portions. A cap member having downwardly turned flanges mayrest in sealing engagement with the trough to seal the drain of thesink. Inside of the trough the outwardly flanged member is provided witha central aperture and three symmetrically spaced outer apertures. Thecap member is provided with three symmetrically spaced pins Whichproject through these three apertures when the cap member is in sealingposition. The cap member is provided with a knob by which it may beraised and rotated so that three pins rest upon the supporting meanslocated between the three apertures. When so supported the cap is liftedout of sealing engagement but its rim extends considerably below bothsides of the trough. As a consequence when there is any flow of waterinto the drain, the trough will form a water seal in cooperation withthe rim of the cap member.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view partly diagrammatic disclosing aclosure for a drain shown in the water sealing position;

Figure 2 is a similar sectional view with the closure shown in fullsealing position;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing there is shown a drain outlet for a sinkadapted to connect with the mouth of a garbage disposer unit. This drainoutlet 20 is provided with an inwardly turned flange 22. Resting uponthis flange 22 is a seal ring 24 of some suitable soft rubber-likematerial. Resting upon this seal ring 24 is the outwardly turned flange26 of a closure member 28. This closure member 28 is provided with acircular trough 30 having three symmetrically positioned drain holes 32in the extreme bottom portion of the trough. These drain holes 32 arequite small and merely serve to drain the trough 30 when the flow ofwater is shut off. Within the perimeter of the trough 30 the member 28is provided with a centrally raised portion 34 having threesymmetrically positioned arc-shaped apertures 36 having upturnedflanges. This central portion 34 also has a centrally located aperture38 substantially in the shape of a three leaf clover and three largersymmetrically positioned apertures 39.

Above the closure member 28 is a cap member 40 having a downwardlyturned rim 42 which extends into sealing engagement with the closuremember 28 upon an outer portion of the trough 30 as shown in Figure 2.The cap member is provided with three symmetrically located supportingpins 44 located on a radius which places them on the same radius as theapertures 36 in the closure member 28. When the cap member 40 is rotatedto the position shown in Figures 2 and 4 the pins 44 will extend throughthe apertures 36 so that the cap member 40 will be supported by its rimas shown in Figure 2 to completely seal the opening in the support 20.When it is desired to place food wastes into the garbage disposer whichis located directly below the support 20, the knob 46 on the cap member40 is lifted. The knob 46 may be in the form of a head of a bolt 48which extends through the centrally located clover leaf aperture in theclosure member 28. The bottom of this bolt 48 is provided with a nut 50.

When the knob 48 is lifted the nut 50 will engage the bottom of theclosure member 28 so that the closure member 28 may be removed from thedrain opening 20 to insert food wastes through the opening into thegarbage disposer. After this the closure 28 may be replaced and the knob46 used to turn the cap member 40 so that pins 44 will rest upon thesupporting webs located between the arc-shaped apertures 36 of theclosure member 28. The water is then turned on to provide a suiticientflow to carry ground food wastes out of the garbage disposer. This flowof water will be sutficient to fill the trough 30 and cause the water tocontinuously overflow through the arc-shaped apertures 36 and thecentral aperture 38 into the mouth of the garbage disposer. The drainapertures 32 are so small that their draining capacity is easilyexceeded by a very small fiow of water so that the trough 30 remainsfilled as long as any water is supplied. The water in the trough 30 willprovide a water seal in cooperation with the downturned rim 42 of thecap member as illustrated in Figure 1. The water line is designated bythe reference character 52.

In this way the water in the trough 30 will seal the path of water flowand prevent the free flow of noise from the garbage disposer into theroom. As I have described, the closure 28 may be readily removed forinsertion of food wastes. The opening may also be com- 3 pietely sealedas shown in Figure 2 by rotation of the cap member 40.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted as may come within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A closure for an opening including a structure having an edge shapedto rest upon the edge ofthe opening, said structure being provided witha-circular trough and a raised central portion Within and surrounded bysaid trough, the portion of the structure between the trough and thefirst edge being substantially impervious, said structure being providedwith a plurality of symmetrically positioned upwardly fianged openingswithin said central portion, a cover for said openings having acontinuous rim extending into said trough, said cover being providedwith a plurality of projections extending into said openings when saidrim is in said central portion of said trough, said structure havingsupporting means located sufficiently high between said openings forsupporting said projections and said cover sufficiently high to raiseits rim above the bottom but below the top of the trough.

2. A closure for an opening including a structure having an edge shapedto rest upon the edge of the opening, said structure being provided witha circular trough and a raised central portion within and surrounded bysaid trough, the portion of the structure between the trough and thefirst edge being substantially irnpervious, said structure beingprovided with a plurality of symmetrically positioned upwardly flangedopenings within said central portion, a cover for said openings having acontinuous rim extending into said trough, said cover being providedwith a plurality of projections extending into said openings when saidrim is in said central portion of said trough, said structure havingsupporting means located sufficiently high between said openings forsupporting said projections and said cover sufficient- 1y high to raiseits rim above the bottom but below the top of the trough, said coverbeing provided with a knob and a lost motion connection with saidstructure for removing said structure from said opening, said connectionhaving a greater lost motion distance than the lift provided by saidprojections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS214,983 Atwater May 6, 1879 368,793 Tilton Aug. 23, 1887 981,347 WornsJan. 10, 1911 1,071,627 Reenstierna Aug. 26, 1913 1,320,883 MartinezNov. 4, 1919 2,620,093 Rose Dec. 2, 1952

